The Route 66 Diner, West Lafayette, Indiana

We love Route 66. We’ve had the good fortune to do some traveling on Route 66, and when we first heard of the Route 66 diner in Lafayette, Indiana, we knew we had to stop in.

Owned by the same folks who own the Triple XXX diner near Purdue University, the Route 66 diner is in an unassuming strip mall along with a chain restaurant and some other shops. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside is a nice trip through Route 66 history. Posters, postcards, wall hangings, clocks, tin signs are simply everywhere. Holly and I both really enjoyed browsing over the walls, and saying “ooohhh, we’ve been here!!”. If you’re a Route 66 fan, it’s worth a visit just for the atmosphere.

The menu has breakfast lunch, and dinner, and is what I would call typical diner food. Heavy on burgers and sandwiches, there are several other options for those that might not want a sandwich, including several Route 66 named salads. I scanned the breakfast menu, and I think this place would be a must stop for breakfast if you’re in the area.

They had their breaded tenderloin on lunch special that day, what a stroke of luck for me! For $4.95, you got a “hand cut” tenderloin with fries. That should be a bargain.

Or is it?

If their goal with the hand cut tenderloin was to make it look and taste exactly like a frozen pork fritter, then they squarely hit the mark on this one. Yes…it was hot. Yes, it was dressed as I requested. Yes, it was (technically) edible. But that’s about all I can say for it. It looked and tasted like a pork fritter I could get out of any grocers freezer case. Since it WAS edible, it gets a 1 out of 5 bites… but that’s it. It was a major disappointment.

That said…we really like this place. Holly got a patty melt that was excellent, the fries were hot, crisp and fresh, and the salad we ordered was very good indeed. The Route 66 Diner is tops on our list to visit when we’re in Lafayette….but I’l not order the tenderloin again.

The Route 66 diner is located at 2 N Salibury Street, in West Lafayette, Indiana

I’ve got relatives in Batesville, IN area. They tell me I need to try Hobo Hut on state road 46 for a great tenderloin. Ever hear of it, Rick? Also they mentioned Storie’s Restaurant in Greensburg. I may have to venture south from NW Indiana to sample a good pork tenderloin.